an't take anything for a service."

Then he hit me a rap on the shoulder and laughed and he punched me in
the chest, not hard, only kind of as if to show me that he liked me.
Then he said, "Bully for you, kiddo, you're one little trump." Then,
all of a sudden he was gone.

Sometimes you can't tell just why you like a fellow, but, anyway, I
liked him just the same.

CHAPTER IV

TELLS ABOUT THE PAPER I FOUND

One thing, I bet it was Pee-wee Harris that the lieutenant heard
talking, while he was hiding on shore. Anyway, it was Pee-wee that I
heard first when they were on their way back--that's sure. You know how
plain you can hear voices on the water. And believe me, before those
fellows were half way out I knew all about the bandit of Red Hallow.
That was the fellow in the movies, I suppose, and he must have been
some bandit, because he saved a school teacher from about twenty other
bandits, and shot them all. I guess everybody was shooting pistols at
everybody else, like they mostly do in the movies. Pee-wee was sticking
up for the poor school teacher, and it made me laugh because he hasn't
got much use for school teachers on account of they're always keeping
him in for talking. Anyway, what fun is there in everybody shooting
pistols at each other. Me for stalking, that's what _I_ say.

When Mr. Ellsworth came on board he said, "Well, Roy, alone in your
glory, eh?" I didn't say anything and I hoped he wouldn't ask me any
questions, because anyway, I wasn't going to lie, that's one sure
thing. I asked him how the fellows liked the movies and he said,
everybody got shot so they were all satisfied. He was just joking. He
asked the fellows if they'd like to meet a lot of bandits in real life,
and they said, "_Good night_, no." And then he said it was funny how
they liked to meet them in the movies and all the fellows had to admit
it was crazy. You wouldn't catch Mr. Ellsworth stopping us from going
to the movies, but he always makes us feel silly afterward.

Pretty soon Grove Bronson, who is one of the Raving Ravens, came up to
me and gave me a newspaper with a whole lot of ears of corn in it, and
said we were going to have it for Sunday dinner.

Pee-wee said, "They're dandy big ears all right, and here's some cans
of tongue."

"Good night," I told him, "I thought we had tongue enough with you
here." Oh, you ought to have seen little Skinny McCord laugh. His face
was all thin on account of his not being very s